Posts (page 2)
Between 2 loads of washing and scrubbing up after the dog threw up not once, but twice on the carpet (thanks a lot!) I reworked that pesky resume and have it away for a look by another set of eyes. Nth time the charm? At least today feels a bit productive
The attached photo is for to show what you as an owner get into when the pet you have is a Golden Retriever.
If you've read Atlas Shrugged, you'll understand
Went to the school I graduated from for a job fair and alumni services. Was worthwhile in that there was some good advice given about bettering my résumé. And the best news was there were no overlooked blatant error(s); like not putting the 'l' in 'Public' for exmaple, which would have automaticaly sunk the resume. So now for the whatever time it is, I am now reworking the resume.
After the job fair was done, I started to roam the campus, the first time I have done so for at least 25 years and in doing so realized just how far my college has drifted into La La Land.
First was a questionnaire which started out with:
It read:
Sex,
Male
Female
Transgender
Other
Likewise the main library. The collections I viewed in the social sciences section showed me the sheer insularity, how cocooned certain departments seem to be. There were for example 2 lines of book shelves devoted entirely to the Vietnam conflict and the books were not new ones. Also saw that 2 of the professors I had in the department of my major, and this was over 20 years ago, are still frickin there! Sceech, they must be tenured onto the afterlife!
(Postscript: Looked up one of the professors, now dept chair and see there's also site that rates college instructors. Saw most of his ratings were less than gushing/glowing. Why am I not surprised?)
On the lighter side, on the main floor of the library there were banks of computers for research, but saw many, many of the students with their Facebook pages up. Perhaps son is not that abnormal after all then. ;-). But looking at these kids was a shock in that I thought "Christ, was I really like that too?!" I probably was (shudder).
Son following his father's steps there is moot as this college does not offer anything close to engineering. Even so, I think I'd think twice before approving of that choice of college.
This time to a big, nationally-known university in Ohio. The campus is indeed big, but not as overwhelming as we were led to believe. Difference of course as night and high noon as far as what is offered to students and comparative facilities, i.e., all classes in the engineering department were housed in one building in the smaller school we visited and at the other bigger school, each branch of the engineering school has its own building. The bigger school of course has more 'Toys' too. My impression is this university and perhaps other big universities see themselves losing students to smaller school as they are seen as too big & impersonal. Much talk about programs to help the individual students all 46,000 of them.
Am put off by the school's 'honor' program/track for incoming kids with high SAT/ACT scores. That strikes me as patently unfair. The playing field should be level at college with it being up to each student to demonstrate how brightly they shine.
The school also has a Japanese program, which son could get a minor in in his sleep if he applied himself and the school is hooked up with some good universities in Japan.
We even managed to meet son's cousin, a grad student there which was amazing given the student body size. What's son is thinking? He may apply, but he's got to get his SAT's up, take the ACT which means boning up. Get his essays in order...and he doesn't seem to get the message. Do I see a train wreck coming?
And we were around for my aunt's 89th birthday. She still refuses to wear her hearing aid so..... While we were eating, a woman came up to her and with a smile said my aunt may not remember her but she delivered her children (ironic, a trained cardiologist spending the bulk of her practice delivering babies). My aunt said, Oh, yes she remembered. Aunt also mentioned a program at this school for 1st generation students which has greatly reduced tuition. Son could be thought of as that, he wasn't born here and immigrated here....
And today, as if my right leg muscles haven't been punished enough for the past 3 days, I drive up to my college for a job fair.
First, any guesses as to what this is, or rather, was?
It a pastry/bread rolling pin, purchased by wife in Japan and its not cheap. Think it was something like 10,000 yen or so.
WTF happened? Well someone, not I, when loading the dishwasher, put this on the bottom rack (I always have put this on the top rack) and when I went to wash the dishes that day, my guess is the water jets may have pushed this off the rack and on to the heating/drying element, which is ok, until the dry cycle comes on.
Why didn't I notice it? It was buried under some bowls and had it fallen down as the tray was pushed forward and the loading door closed, I would have noticed as it would have caught somewhere. I realized something was up as the dish washer was in the drying cycle and smelt something odd coming from somewhere, go to the dishwasher to find smoke mingled with steam coming out in abundance.
What does this say? That someone, not me again, is very, very careless and as this is not the first time, doesn't seem to get the point. As to the dishwasher, I had to gently scrape the carbonized plastic off the dryer element and then run the wash again as the smell had got stuck on all plates, bowls glasses mugs and eating utensils that were in there.
Son comes down this morning, grumpy- so what's new?, I ask myself, but bother to ask what its all about. No response (why am I not surprised?) the first time I asked, but then on the second try, he opened up.
He likes watching South Park and the episode last night was what he was unhappy about. I haven't seen it yet, but according to son, it was a badly stereotyped piece about Japanese dressed in kimonos merrrily spearing whales and dolphins and then launching a Kamikaze attack on some Greenpeace boats.
Now son says he gets the point about dolphins and the whales, and I do too, but he felt personally offended by all of this, which left me surprised. Why? Because up until that moment, he has never really actively acknowledged the whole of who he is.
He does eat Japanese food (especially fond of から揚げ) studies Japanese, but does not show any other outward interest (at least that I could see) in the other side of his makeup.
His mother has clampoered for him to go back for a few weeks since we have miles pilied up, but he resists that too. I do not support this either, but for different reasons. son needs a longer period of time to 'plug in' and rather than a couple of weeks, he should see about one-year study abroad programs offered by a university.
One thing I have slowly noticed as I stay home and take on the chores like washing clothing, dishes, keep the bathrooms clean, vacuuming the rooms, shopping for food and preparing meals, is an annoying migration from the wife to assume I spend my time idle just watching TV.
Case in point, this morning. She needed to be at work at 08:00 this morning and I think she got her time confused as she got up at 05:30. Told her she did not need to be up then, but she showered, etc. Since son too needs to get up at that hour, in between unloading the dishwasher (I loaded it too), I made both of them breakfast (eggs, peeled apples and a bit of chopped lettuce) and coffee for her.
Then I sat down on the sofa with coffee in hand to watch the morning news broadcast. She comes down and starts ranting about me being in front of the TV. Told her that 'Ah, there's been breakfast prepared for you and son, but that did not shut her up.
While I was employed and she was not, she handled what I now do and I never once said or even thought that she had it easy staying home, nor did I resent her not working either; I did suggest from time to time she consider getting a job as I told her while we are the same age, statistically I will most likely check out before she does and she'll need something of her own (Social Security (Hah!) and a 401k).
As I said, I never once berated her for staying at home and seemingly doing 'nothing' and I am beginning to resent being thought as doing so by her.
From a Sake Dojo Alumni.
My reaction, WTF?????
Learned a month or so ago, about a government relations position for a Euro OEM and applied. Seems like a job I could do very easily and a bonus for me at least is that it is home-based.
As I said, that was a month ago. Mentioned to Auto Gal that this OEM seems to have moved on. In reply I was told a person now working for a domestic OEM is the leading candidate for this job. Learning that, I went to the professional networking site I am on and found this person's profile, and when I looked at it, I was crestfallen.
This person is a political appointee, who landed in the auto industry when it was time to go, and has done peripheral work, but the point being, does not appear, at least from the self-description posted, and deep experience in the industry.
Now my background is weighted on the technical side but thanks to observing, learning and asking the occasional question when Auto Gal & I worked together, I think I have political smarts too and I know the product so to speak better that a politico who I see as basically a hired gun/rolodex.
It makes ya wonder.....
After dealing with that note I got, I wondered if the person had 'gone fishin' and had mass mailed others who are/have worked for large international automobile manufacturer #1 and are also on the same professional networking site. So sent a note to a guy, a foreign employee who been working for them in Japan, seemingly forever, asking if he had got same.
'No' was the answer, but then I was asked if I had give this person in Israel, his name. Hell no. There may be others with more common sense than I, but I am not that thick!
Then trying to be solicitous, he asked me how I am doing. Asked if I am more or less retired, and then expressed his envy about me having so much time with son, and my life of Riley with my home mostly paid for and having no worries, living off the wife's earnings.
'Ah dude, outside of spending time with son I am not enjoying this time in my life', is the snot-gram I wanted to fire back. The house, while we've made good progress, still has over 100K on the note and we cannot 'live' on what is earned at Wegmans. It helps. And I've said that it's a shame I am not working now for if I was, wife would have a great deal of discretionary income and her disposal. And I am not enjoying seeing resume after resume go down the Memory Hole either.
He's a nice guy and we go way back, but sometimes he is very ham-handed. Perhaps we all are at times.
